03 Feb “What’s Wrong with Being Positive?” by Stacia Rathert
I’ve been called many things through the years as a pastor’s wife. “No-nonsense” (I’m not fancy). Big-headed” (I do have a large head). And the list goes on. Recently, a church member and friend described me as “one of those ‘positive’ people”. I had to wonder what she meant by that? She had spoken with me about her struggles with prayer and faith after watching a loved-one pass away. She now wondered how to pray for people, when she was not sure of what the outcome would be.
We have all dealt with our prayers not being answered as we thought they should, but we still pray. We have seen our loved-ones suffer and sometimes die, but we still believe. She asked me what I would say to someone who needed healing knowing that sometimes our prayers for healing seem to go unanswered. I said I would tell that person that the Lord is our Healer, and the Bible says that by the stripes of Jesus we WERE healed.
What else do we have, other than the hope we have in scripture? Would we offer our own advice from our personal experience?
I can’t image what life would be like if we based our spiritual outlook on our past experiences. Many of us would probably not be where we are today. What would we do if we couldn’t trust the Lord to heal us and lift us up out of the chaos of life. As leaders of people, we must keep a positive outlook on life. Someone must be the one to lift people up and point them to someone to believe and hope in.
I’m not going to feel bad for being described as one of those “positive” people, because I know that’s how the Lord works through me, and we all need a positive person in our lives. I’ve felt the feeling of loss; I’ve been in the depths of despair. I don’t want to live in that place. So, if someone needs to be lifted from that horrible place, I want to be the one offering a hand to hold or a smile for encouragement or maybe a kick in the pants.
The Bible says in 1 Cor. 15 that the gospel is Good News- not just news. If we just had news, what help would that be to anyone? Let’s share some good and positive news!
About Stacia:
Stacia is the wife of Pastor Randy Rathert at Elevate Church in Missoula Montana. Married for almost 30 years, they have two children, Chase and Camry. Stacia was born and raised in Missoula. In 2002, they moved to Michigan to pastor the re-launch of a church and begin full-time ministry. In June of 2009, God led them back to Missoula to begin launching a church with the help of the Significant Church Network. In 2010, they launched Elevate Church and never looked back. Along with pastoring the church with Randy, Stacia works full time at the University of Montana.